Take a Swig and Forget
by EVERYTHING.I.KNOW.is.a.LIE
Summary: Gibbs sees something he doesn't want to and goes off drinking trying to forget about Abby. Abby tries to comfort him but confronts him instead. Then they realize their mistakes.


Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or anything that has to do with NCIS (including Star Bucks)

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab, hoping that she figured out what kind of car left the tire tracks at the crime scene and wanting to give her something. He walked in, Caf-Pow in hand and the special thing in his pocket. He was silent, as usual, so Abby didn't hear him some in. He wished he hadn't been so quiet though. In the lab were Abby and McGee. In the lab were Abby and McGee _kissing._ Gibbs was crushed. He just stood there for a moment and stared, then left hastily. For the first time _ever_, Gibbs left work early with a case sill going on.

On the way home, Gibbs thought. He loved her, and he was betrayed. He thought she loved him too, but he was obviously wrong. He thought about anything he might have done to make her turn her back on him. He hadn't thought of anything by the time he was home. He went inside and emptied his left pocket of the now useless ring. He got some bourbon from his refrigerator and headed downstairs to work on his boat. He started sanding and drinking. He kept thinking about how he could've gone wrong. Maybe their relationship wasn't meant to go any further. He couldn't see why though. He married Shannon because he loved how unique she was. He divorced the other three because they were so plain. He was planning to marry Abby for the same reason he married Shannon. She and Shannon were complete opposites, but Gibbs loved her for that. He took another swig of his bourbon. It hadn't even been five minutes and his drink was gone. He went upstairs to get a few more bottles. This was going to be a long night.

It was 4:17 when Gibbs went to sleep. He was so drunk, he thought about sleeping under the boat so he wouldn't fall up the stairs. Gibbs hasn't felt so tired- so drunk- so depressed- in a long while. He didn't think about Abby thought. It seemed as if the more he drunk, he less he remembered about her. It had felt good to forget about her.

Gibbs woke up at 2:36 the next afternoon. He didn't care he would late for work. He wasn't going anyways. He still had to forget about Abby before going back. Gibbs went back to his 'fridge and got the remainder of his bourbon out. He headed back downstairs to work on his boat again.

Back at the base, everyone was worried about Gibbs. He has never missed work, other than the time he went to Mexico. He couldn't be sick, he said himself he's never had a cold before. "Do you think he went back to Mexico?" Ziva asked. "Maybe." Tony replied. "He looked as if he might be growing another mustache." No one knew if that was suppose to be a joke or not, so they didn't reply. Later, Tony went down to Abby's lab for the DNA results. "Where's Gibbs?" She asked. "We don't know. He didn't show up today." Abby smacked herself in the head. "He went to Mexico again, didn't he? I'll call him up before-" Tony stopped her. "We don't know if he went to Mexico again or not." Abby put her phone down for a moment, then picked it back up. "Well, I'll call him just to see what's wrong."

Gibbs' phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. He didn't answer. It kept ringing until his voicemail came on. He knew Abby- she wouldn't just hang up because he didn't answer. Then he heard his cell phone. He didn't look to see who it was. He knew it was Abby, trying to get a hold of him by his cell. Gibbs picked his phone up to see what Abby said. "Hey Gibbs. It's Abby. Where the heck are you? Everyone's worried sick. Call me back." Then he checked his cell phone. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs, answer your phone! I called your house. Are you in Mexico again?" He smiled, even though he didn't want to. He took another swig of bourbon, trying to forget Abby's voice, which would be hard to do. He loved the way it sounded when she was angry, but he tried to shake it off.

It had been weeks since Gibbs had been to work. He was surprised Leon hasn't called to fire him yet. His cell phone rang. It was the first time someone had called since Abby called the first day he missed. He still hasn't forgot her, but getting drunk at night helped him get to sleep. Gibbs looked at the caller ID. It was Abby again. He waited for it to stop ringing so he could check the message. "Look Gibbs, if you don't call in the next five minutes, I'm going to track you down and find you. _Call me!_" He wasn't threatened. _You can't track me down if my phone's off, _he though smugly.

"Crap!" Abby yelled out in frustration. "He cut his phone off." Tony looked over her shoulder. "Did you get a glimpse of where he was?" Abby crossed her arms. "Yeah. He's at his house, but he could be on the move to Mexico!" Tony pathetically slapped her on the back of the head. "Well, go after him before he gets anywhere!"

Abby pulled into Gibbs' driveway. He car was still there. She got of her car and let herself in with the key he gave her. If he was still here, she knew where he would be. "Gibbs! What are you doing?" She asked as she walked down the stairs. "My question is what are you doing here?" Thank God he wasn't drunk just yet. "I'm here checking on you! Everyone's going bonkers Gibbs! We miss you." His voice started to get aggressive. "You _missed_ me? Well, why don't you just tell your boyfriend that!" Abby had a disgusted look on her face, but her eyes said she was confused. "Well, I _thought _I was." He thought she was playing dumb, trying to look innocent for knowingly breaking his heart. "Oh, well don't you remember Abby? I guess you forgot when you and McGee-" Abby interrupted with a look of fear in her eyes. Fear and confusion. "What? Do you think I'd really betray you like that? _I _didn't kiss _him. He _kissed _me!" _Gibbs was becoming more angry at the lie. "Well, you sure looked like you were enjoying it when I came in!" Tears were starting to run down Abby's face. "_What?_ Gibbs, I pushed away. You obviously didn't stay around for _that!_ Why Gibbs? Why do you think I would betray you like that? I love you… Well, I did. I don't know anymore…" Gibbs' heart stopped for a moment. What had he done? He had accused the only person he loved in a while for _betraying_ him. In the end though, he betrayed her trust. He moved closer to her, to try and comfort her. She pushed him away. "No, Gibbs. Leave me alone." Then she left. He stood there, confused and mad at himself. He had lost her.

Abby went home. She felt cold. She thought a hot shower would do her some good. She stepped in, not taking off her clothes, and sat below the showerhead. She turned on the hot water and just sat there, crying. She was becoming numb, but she was still cold. She grabbed a towel and put it under the water. Once it was soaked, she put it on her. She just sat there, thinking why Gibbs would betray her trust. She lied back at his house. She still loved him, but she couldn't bring herself around to say it. She had wanted to spite him. He betrayed her trust, so she lied. She kept crying. She loved him so much, and he loved her too, but now it was over because of stupid McGee still having feelings for her. She thought of all the wonderful things she would lose because of that stupid, meaningless kiss. She would lose his smile. His sparkling smile that was so white for a man who drank so much coffee. She would lose the sparkle in those icy eyes he had. She would lose his whisper- his loving, comforting whisper that said, "I love you," constantly. She would never have any of that again, except for in her dreams.

She got out of the shower. She was extremely red. Once she got out of her steaming bathroom, she was freezing from how cold the rest of her house was. She dried herself with her hairdryer, still trying to keep warm. She went to bed, and she grabbed the covers and put them up to her chin. She still shivered. This wasn't from being cold anymore. Every time she dozed off, she could hear him whisper. She could never get a full night's sleep at this rate.

It was 1:24 when Gibbs decided to go to bed. He wasn't drunk, and he couldn't get to sleep. He kept thinking about Abby. What he remembered the most was that look of fear and confusion in her eye that night. He could never think of himself scaring someone so much- especially not Abby. He was buzzed a little when he talked to her, and he wasn't for sure how he sounded. He must've shouted to make her look like that. He hated himself. The second to only real person he actually loved, and he lost her because he was half drunk and screaming. He argued with himself all that night, not getting any sleep at all.

The next morning he decided to go back to work. He stopped by Star Bucks and got a black coffee. He hesitated before the bought the large Caf-Pow. He wasn't for sure if Abby would accept one. When he went in the bullpen, he was welcomed by everyone- other than Abby and Ducky, of course, most likely down in her lab and his morgue. "Did you enjoy Mexico, boss?" Tony asked, which earned him a slap in the back of the head. "I never left DiNozzo." Tony rubbed the back of head, whispering to himself, "Well, he doesn't have a mustache." Gibbs looked at him, and Tony slapped himself in the head. "There you go, boss." Gibbs headed down to Abby's lab. He walked through the door, not even covering ears. There was no music. There was no Abby. Gibbs sighed, not really surprised. He should've guessed she wouldn't be here. He put the Caf-Pow in her refrigerator and left the room.

Abby decided to get out of bed at 11:42. Not getting any sleep the night before, she decided to wake herself with a cold shower, knowing a hot one would just lull her to constant dozing. When she turned the water on, she jumped a little. Soon she felt comfortable and awake. She didn't dry off. She just put on her robe and sat on the couch. She didn't do anything. She just sat there, staring at the blank TV, thinking about Gibbs. She didn't want to think about him, but she couldn't help it. Maybe it wasn't really his fault. Underneath the rough and tough guy most people knew him as, she knew there was a more sensitive person. If he really loved her as much as she loved him, he would get mad if she was kissing someone, even though he never saw McGee kiss her. But that was beside the point. Anyone could've overacted to something like that. The only thing that really got her thinking otherwise was when he scared her. She had never been scared before, other than the time Mikel was stalking her and she was almost shot by Ari. He seemed different though, even before he brought up McGee. She didn't know exactly what it was though. She started blaming herself though. She was getting mad at someone who obviously loved her and didn't want to lose her, even though he thought he had lost her. It didn't seem right to blame Gibbs anymore, and she really wanted to kill McGee for kissing her, but she mainly blamed herself.

Gibbs was trying to decide whether or not to check up on Abby. He would of course say he was sorry, because he thought it was his fault. If she still didn't want to see him, he would understand. He took the ring before he left. He knew he wasn't going to propose, but he wanted it as a reminder of what might be able to happen if all goes well.

Abby was dressed, ready to go to Gibbs' house. She wasn't for sure, but she knew she had to say she was sorry. He would probably never forgive her, but she was okay with that. It was her own fault she became scared because she led him on to scare her, but she blamed him. So, it would make perfect sense if he never wanted to speak with her again. She was about to walk out the door when she heard someone knocking. She cursed under her breath. She didn't have enough time for this crap. She needed to tell the man she loved she was sorry for blaming him. She opened the door. "Oh, it's you Gibbs." She looked down, suddenly shy. "Hey Abs- Abby. I- needed to talk to you." Abby nodded. "Yeah, I- needed to talk to you, too." She hugged him. "I am so, _so _sorry for what I did last night and what I said. You were just scared of losing me, and it's okay if you never want to talk to me again." Gibbs was confused. "Actually, Abs, _I _should be the one that's sorry. I was half drunk and I made you scared for no good reason. I was overreacting, and you were just explaining yourself." He hugged her back. "I love you _so_ much." He whispered in her ear. It sent shivers up her spine. She hugged him tighter. "I love you too." She took him to the couch. "I'm still really sorry though. I didn't think that you were scared." Gibbs took his hand and lifted her chin. "I was only scared of losing you. I was mad at myself for making you so scared of me. I couldn't stand that look in your eyes…" He looked in her eyes now. They looked comforted, but tears were brimming up. He hugged her. He felt her tears wetting his shoulder. He parted from her, gently taking his hand and wiping away her tears. He lowered his face to hers and he brushed his lips on hers. They sat there, kissing each other tenderly, letting their forgiveness flow through their lips. Gibbs slid off the couch, landing on one knee. He dug in his right pocket. He took out the ring. "Abby, I don't know if now would be the best time, but, I just want to say, I love you, and I always want to be with you. Will you-" Abby interrupted him in mid-sentence and hugged him tightly, saying, "Yes. Yes I want to marry you Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

Note: Wow. That is probably the longest thing I've wrote in a long time. It's probably took me the longest time to write, too. Well, I hope you liked it, and please R&R! : )


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